The
cage of Yukon Gold tomatoes was clearly finished.This morning I removed the cage and support
posts and dug up the potatoes.This
variety does not usually give the yields of the Red Pontiacs, which will last
for a few more weeks.I got 5 pounds, 4
oz from five small tubers.The two red
potatoes are from a runner that found it’s way from the adjacent cage of Red
Pontiacs.Now I can make one of my
favorite comfort foods – simmered potatoes, green beans, onions and sausage.

This
is the second batch of onions drying out.There’s
one more batch this size still in the beds.I built a wood frame, about 2’ x 4’ in dimension with ½ inch wire screen
where the onions can dry in the sun.Onions
dry quickly in this heat.By 11 AM today
the temperature was above 90 F.The high
on the July 4 was 102, and at 3 PM today it’s 101 according to Intellicast.Friday and Saturday the predicted highs are
104. The tomatoes and peppers are not setting many viable fruit now.

Now that I am watering
the beds by pumping water from the pond I realize that I had not been putting
enough water down on the beds when I watered from the house system.Digging down into the soil I found it lacking
moisture about six to eight inches down.The plants had been pulling water out of this zone and not
enough was trickling down to replace it.The rule of thumb is an inch of water a week, butwhen the daily highs are upper 90’s or more,
the sun is blazing in a cloudless sky and there’s also some wind up then the
plants probably need two or three inches of water a week.I’ve been laying down a lot of water almost
daily and the plants are responding well.

That is really interesting info on the green shouldered tomatoes. I think I would have let that variety go to long on the vine because the lighter skin would have fooled me into waiting. Beautiful tomato with all the color variation.

It is very easy to not water enough because depending on the soil structure and current moisture level, water may not percolate down very well into the deeper portions of the soil. I always check back to see if it really did what I thought, and am often suprised at the lack of moisture below the top few inches.

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About this Blog

I moved to this place in SW Indiana in 2008. The property is six acres of woods, pasture, yard and pond. Usable garden space with full sun is limited by surrounding trees to 250 square feet of raised beds, more the size of an urban garden. I use intensive techniques: rotation of plant families, nutrient cycling, cages and trellises, row cover and cold frames to get the most out of the space.

About Me

A native Hoosier, I worked in the construction trades and later in life got a chemistry degree and worked in a research lab until retirement. I raise vegetables because they taste better and it saves money. What other hobby pays for itself? I'm a cheapskate - I won't buy new seeds until the old ones aren't any good. I'm also a bit of a lazy gardener - if I can buy the seedlings I want then why start the seeds, or if I can engineer a way to make it less work I'll do so. I also drink too much beer. But I never (well almost never) work in the garden and drink beer.